Not sure this is the right place for this, but here goes. What do you do with your kids? To me, this was always a simple issue. We'd read stories (either from the Bible itself or a children's bible) and talk about it. That's it. What else is there? Obviously when they're older, I expect discussions about theology, tenets of specific organized religions, and so forth, but my kids are little new. Well... My 5-almost-6yo is coming home from Sunday School with increasing, well, wackiness. Some is his mis-interpretation. (It took us several weeks to convince him that "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" does NOT mean "Do it back to them.") One particular crazy thing he said (which I now forget, but shocked me at the time) he admitted he made up. (?!) Some of it is hearing what other children say (that they've heard somewhere) and believing that. But mostly, it seems the teacher (who is a lovely woman) uses a lot of new-agey type language. Please note, I'm not criticizing his teacher. I teach Sunday School as well, we switch kids around, and I have the same kids for part of the time. They are a bunch of little squirrels. It's just that I think it's very confusing for him to be taught a "modern" Sunday School curriculum, using a KJV translation Bible (at church, not at home), and then to hear this sort of feel-good new-age type language. I'm sorry I'm not explaining this better. I guess it's just that I believe in a God who is a Person, present and real, not some distant--foggy-feel-good figure. So, the issue (I think) is that I need to address "God" more directly with my son. I thought, okay, we'll buckle down and get serious. We're starting our new school "year" in a coupld months, it's a good time..." And then I realized I don't have a clue what to do. I mean, when they're six, what is there besides talking about God and reading the stories? We also use verses for copywork and, of course, talk about the things we learn in bible stories as they come up in life. I sure would appreciate hearing your thoughts and ideas. I'm kind of at a loss.
I do understand what you are saying. There so many "new" things floating out there, and many water down God's truth because the real thing makes us uncomfortable. I think the best thing to do is give your children a foundation. Talk to them about God every day. Ask them about their classes without putting down the teach " Oh, I think she meant..." and show what the Bible says about it. From what you say, it sounds like you are doing a good job. Something that I have added, just to add some variety it is "" Picture This!" It is a Bible survey that you draw (trace actually). It gives you visual "reminders" of the key points of each book. W really like. It has taught me so much- especially in the Old Testament. HTH!
I have found that AWANAS lays a very strong foundation. When I started HS'ing I bought a "Bible Curriculum". But I eventually found that working on AWANAS every day was all we needed. There's a lot of Bible memorization, plus application.
Thanks for the replies. Lori, is "Picture This" a curriculum? Jackie, I find it ironic you suggest AWANA. Our kids have been invited to go with another homeschooling family. Unfortunately, the only time it meets around here that we coudl go is Sunday afternoon, and DH is reluctant to give up any weekend family time. I'll keep it in mind, though.
~Not-So-Quiet Times 2 is a devotional that goes through the Psalms and the Proverbs. ~Parenting with Scripture is a topical guide for teachable moments. The second one I am doing with my children right now. We looked at what the Bible tells about discernment this morning. There are verses to look up, questions, applications...Other topics we learned just to tell you include beauty, courage, cooperation, example,fairness. One more idea for you...Teach your child the names of God. God tells us that He is the Great I AM. I heard it preached on this way: What is your need? God says "I AM". You need a shelter, He is that shelter, you need strength, He is Strength... I am giving you a link to a booklet that has listed the names of God in the appendix. It is the perfect list, imho! It gives the names of God that are found in the Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. God is Light, Love, The Eternal Father, Shelterin the time of storm, the Rock, My High Tower, My Shield....on and on... ..http://www.campbenaiah.org.au/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=23
Mine are 7, 5, 3, and 18 mos. We have a daily devotional with song scripture study each morning. I firmly believe in reading to the kids directly from the scrips (rather than a summation or picture book), and teaching them to read using the scrips, and we study the KJV. This, of course, increases their vocabulary. They often ask about the meaning of a word. Just think of how much is added to your scripture study when your four year old asks what "repentence" means. I also try, as we read, to apply what we've read back to them: what would you do in this situation? what do you think He means? how can we be more faithful/obedient/humble...? We also memorize a scripture verse each week, and use that for our handwriting practice. We have a weekly "family night" with a lesson that is based on either scripture story or a principle. With the ages of my kids, usually short. And we talk about what they learned in Sunday School. Usually they do some sort of craft or coloring page, so we display it, talk about it, and so forth. When I'm really on the ball - not so much lately, LOL - I can access the children's manual online, and I'll glance over it either the night before their lesson or once we get home, which helps with the "Idunnos" my kids occasionally run into. Family prayer, morning and night. I encourage them, especially the older ones, to pray and read scriptures on their own. And, of course, blend it into real world experiences: when your scared, upset, happy/grateful, etc. We don't do anything formalized. Hope that helps. SG
We do the Awanas but it seems my daughter does it more for the memorization than anything. She never seems to remember what they talked about there or in Sunday School. I am there so I know what goes on but sometimes I am not sure about her at times. We pray and listen to hymnals and some of the newer Christian music. We do the bible parts of Little Hands To Heaven and Bigger Hearts For His Glory and she remembers that more than the other two. Recently they all have been asking questions and been trying to answer the best that I can from how I feel about it all. I have questions too so right now we are learning together about everything.
There is something I feel like God has been trying to teach me the past year, partly through some books I have read, and through three different speakers at the most recent state homeschool convention that I attended. Basically, it is that I need to start each topic we talk about with the Bible first. I will try to give you an example. I made up a lesson plan and taught it this week at our homeschool co-op. The lesson was about "Big Cats." Instead of starting out with information from a science book, I looked up "LION" in an online concordance. First, we read scripture to find out what the Bible says about lions. For example, in Bible times they were used as an example of a strong animal, a brave animal, and a fearsome animal. We also found out that even lions are dependant on God. God closed their mouths when He wanted to, and in heaven, lions will be tame so that children can lead them. After that, we moved along with the lesson...but it still gave us a point of reference. For instance, why do lions have to be strong? Anyway, I definitely don't have this completely down, and I don't do it every single day. It is just the direction I feel like I am supposed to go. I can't post the link to the concordance I used because I am new member, but it is called Bible-Topics. Maybe you can find it from there. It looks humble, but is full of references. I hope that helps. This is a different way of incorporating the Bible into your homeschool, and appropriate for young kids as well as older. For further reading, you might try A Biblical Home Education by Ruth Beechick. I just started it myself, so I can't tell you much about it, but it would be a good starting point to answer your question much deeper. Kerri
